Goddess
by Seseorang
Summary: Young Natori Shuuichi has many things most people don't; good looks, intelligence and a job after graduating high school. He has also been gifted an ability to see spirits. Sure, he sees spirits everyday, but that evening is his first time seeing a goddess. AU, one shot. Edited.


_**Natsume Yuujinchou © Midorikawa Yuki**_

**_Warning:_ **Alternate Universe**, **Out of Character-ness might ensue.

* * *

Young Natori Shuuichi had things that most people didn't. He had good looks, great intelligence—just look at hi close-to-perfect grades—and a promising future, since he had a job secured at a famous agency. What he should do was only waiting for the graduation ceremony, and he'd leave the small town he currently resided in to work in the entertainment industry. All people could see was how good Natori's life was.

That was what people could _see._

Natori had another thing that not many people possessed. He was gifted an ability to see spirits. He kept this a secret from most people, as they would not believe him. He once told his parents when he was little, but they just brushed it off, thinking their son was having bad dreams. No matter how hard little Natori tried to convince his parents, they still wouldn't believe him. Ever since that day, Natori would keep his mouth shut. He never talked about the ability he had to anyone.

At first, Natori felt uncomfortable knowing there were other creatures lurking in his parents' kitchen or his classroom, but eventually he got over it and could survive a day without shivering at the thought of the spirits eating him. He had learned to ignore their existence.

* * *

That day, Natori had left his school late, thanks to his homeroom teacher babbling about career choices and graduation ceremony, which was gonna be held in two days. As someone who already got a job secured, Natori couldn't help but not giving a damn. He walked in a faster pace, seeing the sun was about to set. Darkness also meant more spirits lurking, and although he had ignored them long enough, spirits were mischievous. Small spirits often annoyed Natori even after he tried his best to ignore them. Natori sighed in relief when the lights of his house. He just needed to turn left and—

A large grayish creature fell from a big sakura tree on the side of the street, its wide mouth was on its stomach and it only had an eye. It was staring at Natori, who tried his best to pretend he didn't see anything. Unfortunately, the large spirit didn't buy any of his pretense. It slowly made its way toward the shivering young man, and its speed immediately increased. Natori knew he had no chance of avoiding its attack. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for whatever was coming.

When Natori felt his body was still in one piece after some time passed, he opened his eyes and was stunned at what he saw. A woman floating in front of him, her dark blonde hair and white _haori_ were wavering gracefully thanks to the gentle spring breeze. The woman looked so graceful_._

Natori had seen many spirits in his life, but it was the first time he saw a _goddess._

In a flash, Natori realized there was still the large gray spirit to worry about—and he was even more stunned when he saw the woman had a sword in her hand, and the large gray spirit had been sliced in half, turning into dust.

The woman turned to face him, and his eyes were met with a mask of smiling face with an eye at the center. Her face might be covered, but Natori could feel that she was really _beautiful_.

When he was about to open his mouth, a strong breeze blew and he had to cover his eyes—despite already wearing a pair of glasses—to prevent the dust to fly into his eyes. When the breeze stopped, Natori found that the woman was gone.

* * *

The next morning, Natori took his usual route to school and intentionally passed the sakura tree. He looked around, hoping to see the goddess that had saved his life, but instead he saw nothing. Natori was a bit disappointed, then he quickly made his way to school, so he wouldn't be late for the graduation ceremony rehearsal.

When the rehearsal ended, Natori ignored his friends' call and returned home immediately—well, not really to his _house_, but to a certain sakura tree. Natori stood in front of it and took a paper bag from his school bag—which contained two meat buns he bought on his way. Natori put the paper bag under the tree and clasped his hands together.

"This might not be the best offering a goddess can accept," he murmured, "but I hope this shows how grateful I am to you, who saved my life."

Natori didn't expect a strong breeze to blow and he sensed _something_ that he couldn't really point out what. It felt warm and comforting, like the spring air. A moment later, the sight before him made him feel a weird happiness. What a ridiculous amount of luck he had.

The goddess had descended, and was floating in front of him.

"Good afternoon, Goddess."

The goddess was now on her feet, mask still covered her face, "I am no goddess, Human. I am a mere spirit."

Automatically, Natori wore his usual _charming _smile, which had won many girls' hearts and the agency scout, "Ah, forgive my mistake. I thought someone as graceful as you must be a goddess." Maybe, had the female spirit not worn a mask, he would've been able to see her rolling her eyes, "So, do you accept my offering? Or...is it not enough? Should I have brought more?"

"Your safety was never of my concern, Human. I was merely slaying the demon that had disturbed the peace of this area—and where I live, for that matter," her voice sounded so soothing, even the ever-so-proud Natori got mesmerized—despite the fact his heart pang a little when she said he was none of her concern, "putting that aside, I did not expect you to give me anything in return. I shall accept your gifts and would like to let you know that I am grateful."

"No, no! You don't need to be grateful to me! What I gave isn't much on par with what you did!" Natori waved his hand nervously—which was quite weird, because Natori Shuuichi _never _got nervous—when he noticed her hands were covered with bruises, "Hey, may I take a look at your hands? They seem not okay."

The female spirit fidgeted a little, "My well being is none of your concern, Human."

Despite her implied protest, Natori stepped closer and took a look at her hands, "Whoa, are these from your fight yesterday? They really don't look okay," he lifted his gaze from her hands to her mask, "please, let me take care of these wounds. I still need to repay my debt."

"You owe me nothing, Human," she still protested, "and these wounds do not matter. They will recover in no time."

"But I insist," Natori sounded so determined, "I think I have a roll of bandages in my home. Don't leave where you are before I come back!"

To be honest, Natori didn't expect she'd do as he said, that was why he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the female spirit was still standing under the sakura tree, "Sorry to make you wait." She gave no voiced response, only turning her head to him, "Can we move to that spot behind your tree? It'll be kind of weird to tend your wounds in the middle of the road," she once again didn't respond, only made her way to the said spot with Natori following close behind.

He first wiped her wounds with a wet handkerchief until they were clean, and he took the bandages he brought earlier. When he unrolled the bandages to start bandaging her hands, she spoke, "I am not sure if your methods can really heal my wounds, for I am not a part of your world."

"But I can see and touch you," he replied, "besides, we'll never know if we never try."

"You indeed are a weird one, Human."

He shifted his gaze from her hands to her face, "You know, it won't hurt to call me by my name. Just call me Shuuichi."

"…very well, Shuuichi."

When Natori finished bandaging her hands, his lips formed a satisfied smile, "There! Now you shouldn't do much with your hands until your wounds are completely healed."

The female spirit stared intently at her hands—at least, that was Natori thought, since her mask still covered her face—and was silent.

"Wwhat's wrong? Do they still hurt?"

The female spirit shook her head, "It just feels unusual, to have a human to even _care _about a spirit," she lifted her head to meet his gaze—through her mask, "I thank you, Shuuichi."

Somehow, the way she said her gratitude made Natori's face warm. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her mask-covered gaze, "Uh, it's okay. I guess we're even now, no?"

She tilted her head slightly, and somehow Natori could feel she was _smiling _at him under her mask, "If you say so."

Natori suddenly realized that he had been out too long, and he knew his parents might start looking for him, "I should go back now. It's been fun, to have a new friend. See you again," Natori quickly ran toward his house, not even expecting an answer from her. When he arrived at his house—which didn't take long—Natori realized he had forgotten something.

He hadn't asked who her name was.

* * *

The graduation day had arrived. Natori was getting dressed when he remembered that he only had less than two days to spend in his hometown. He'd leave tomorrow morning to the city where his agency was located to start working.

On his way to school, he glanced at the sakura tree, not spotting whom he was searching for. Natori sighed. _I suppose I'll meet her after graduation, then._

Graduation went too slow for Natori's liking, with the boring speech and all. He almost fell asleep when finally the whole ceremony ended. Despite his protests, his friends dragged him to take some pictures and it took him all his patience not to snap at them. When he finally could slip from their grips, Natori quickly made his way to the sakura tree—not forgetting to buy the meat buns he bought last time. A smile was slowly formed on his lips as he got closer to the sakura tree.

"Hey, I brought you another meat buns!" Natori called out, and he heard nothing in reply. Natori tried calling her again a few times, a bit too loud once—which turned the passers-by's attention to him, thinking he was crazy to shout at a tree—but still, he got no answer. He decided to wait a bit longer, sitting under the tree. He leaned on the tree stem, for the first time actually enjoying the scenery of his hometown.

'_Is this the scenery she sees everyday?_' He wondered, eyeing everyone who passed by. An old couple holding hands with a little boy—too young to be their son, he thought, but maybe the couple were blessed later than most people—and there were also two little kids, a black haired boy and a brunette girl, seemed to be at the same age as the little boy he saw with the old couple earlier. They were running happily. Natori smiled at the scene.

_Too bad I'll have to leave this town soon._

Natori closed his eyes, enjoying the warm spring breeze, and eventually he made his way to the land of dreams.

* * *

"Shuuichi? Wake up! Why are you sleeping here? And it's already dark, for God's sake." A familiar voice snapped him to the real world. Natori's vision was still blurry, but he could recognize that the figure before him was his mother. He stretched his arms lazily and got up, taking a final glance at the tree—still couldn't find whom he was looking for. When he started following his mother's steps, she asked, "Is that paper bag yours?"

Natori glanced at the paper bag that contained the meat buns he bought earlier, and slowly shook his head, "No."

As Natori entered his house, unbeknownst to him, the figure he had been waiting for appeared next to the sakura tree. The truth was, she had been strolling around the area. Really, she was never one to leave where lived, but her encounter with Natori made her curious about humans. So she decided to observe humans. There were those who acted kind, there were also the despicable ones. She had to admit that she enjoyed observing humans, and she might make this her routine. Her thought was interrupted when she caught a sight of a familiar paper bag, which she quickly recognized as the meat buns Natori brought for offerings to her. She had seen many humans, but Natori was indeed a weird one.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want us to see you off at the station?"

Natori wore his usual smile, "It's okay, Mom. I'll be fine by myself. Both you and Dad need to work early today, don't you? If you see me off, you'll be late to work." His mom frowned a bit, but decided to let her son go.

With that, Natori bid his parents farewell. It was still early in the morning—the sun hadn't even shown its first ray of lights, but Natori Shuuichi was already on the streets, a hand carrying a large bag. He had called the agency last night and they were expecting him to arrive before nine, so he got to leave early.

"You sure are early. Are you travelling somewhere, Shuuichi?"

Hearing this sudden call, Natori's face brightened, "Hello, nice to see you again." He was happy to see her again. She was sitting on one of tree branches, and she still looked as graceful as ever.

"You have yet to answer me."

Natori took a short glance at his bag before facing her again, "Oh, this? I wanted to tell you yesterday, but you weren't here," his smile faltered a bit, "I'm gonna leave this town."

The soft wind was blowing harder, and if his eyes didn't deceive him, her body tensed, "I understand."

"Are you sad?" He asked, half joking and half hoping.

"I am not sure if I can call this sadness, but I do believe there is some regret," when Natori looked confused, she continued, "I regret that I wasn't here yesterday, that you weren't able to inform me of your departure."

At this, Natori felt warm inside, "So you _are_ sad that I'm leaving."

"I already told you, Shuuichi, that it is not sadness that I'm feeling."

Natori raised his hand in defeat, "Okay, okay. You aren't sad that I'm leaving. I got it." Natori sighed dramatically, "Did you get the meat buns?" She nodded.

"Shuuichi?" She called him with a tone he had never heard before, "How long will you be gone?"

"To be honest, I don't know," his eyes showed a little regret, "I mean, I am _working, _and who knows when will I have a free time."

She didn't reply, so Natori continued, "But I promise, if I visit this town, I will definitely visit you."

"Do not make promises if you don't intend to keep them, Shuuichi," she warned.

"I don't plan to break this promise at all. You know, you are actually a great friend, and I enjoy spending my time with you, although I've only done so once. I want to spend more time with you, but unfortunately I can't do it now."

A sound of leaves rustling filled the silence. Natori took a glance at his watch—his train would leave in twenty five minutes, and the trip from this place to the station took fifteen minutes, "I'm sorry, but I really need to go now. Keep my words that I will come here when I visit this town again."

He was surprised to see she was taking off her mask, showing her pair of bright blue eyes, shining like a pair of jewels. Natori thought her with mask was already beautiful, but with her face uncovered, she was _breathtaking._

Natori hadn't recovered from his shock when she descended from the branch, her face close to him. Natori could feel his face getting warm and his heart beat faster than it did before.

"I was absent because I was observing humans yesterday," the sound of her voice was even more intoxicating that she was _so close _to him, "and I found out many interesting facts. I have found out the ways humans show their affection to others."

Natori was dumbfounded until he felt her lips were pressed againsthis cheek, and his entire body became numb. When she pulled back, he saw her cheeks got pinker, "I hope this is a correct way to show my affection towards you, Shuuichi. You are a very pleasing companion—or should I say, friend, and I do care a lot about you."

Natori was too happy that he pulled her closer and held her tightly in his arms. He could feel she was actually _breathing, _and he let out a soft murmur, "Well, that's one of many ways to show your affection toward others, and you did it just right."

"You know, you haven't told me your name yet," Natori stated while pulling back, "it won't feel right if I don't know my friend's name."

She answered with a sheepish smile, "You may call me Hiiragi."

"Hiiragi," he echoed, tasting the name in his mouth. It felt _good_, "Well then Hiiragi, I really need to go if I want to arrive on time. I promise, I will do my best to visit this town—to visit _you—_as soon as possible."

Natori pulled her closer for another hug, "Take care of yourself, Hiiragi. Don't fight demons recklessly again," he said after he finally broke the contact. Hiiragi slightly nodded, and at Natori's request, she disappeared before he left.

"Take care of your well being, Shuuichi," was echoed. Natori smiled and turned his back on the sakura tree, continuing his trip to the train station.

Young Natori Shuuichi had what most people didn't. He had good looks, intelligence, a job at an entertainment agency, and now, he had a being close to a goddess as his close friend.

And who knows, it might become more than that in the future.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh Heavens how do you fluff.

This was longer than I expected, to be honest. I thought I wouldn't even reach 2000 words, but here this fic is, almost reaching 3000 words. On the other note, I absolutely adore the relationship between Natori and Hiiragi, and I was finally able to drag my lazy fingers to write a fic about them. It's also nice to imagine highschool!Natori, hahaha. I do apologize if this story still lacks in both plot and grammar and everything. Also, this story didn't have a beta-reader, so please do point out if I made typos or anything.


End file.
